A celebration of the best of the National Trust''s exquisite ceramic collection.

This publication introduces the rich and varied ceramics in the National Trust''s vast and encyclopaedic collection. This collection numbers approximately 75,000 artefacts, housed in 250 historic properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. One hundred key pieces have been selected from this rich treasure trove, each contributing to our knowledge of ceramic patronage and history, revealing the very personal stories of ownership, display, taste and consumption.

The selection includes the following Continental wares: ''Red-figure'' wares; Italian armorial tableware; Dutch Delft from the Greek A factory, owned by Adrianus Kocx; Chinese Kraak ware; Dehua ware; Japanese Kakiemon-style and Imari-style tableware and garnitures; Meissen table sculpture by Johann Joachim Kandler; tableware attributed to Adam Friedrich von Lowenfinck; Castelli faience from the Grue workshop.

It also includes wares from the following porcelain manufactories: Doccia; Vienna; Vincennes; Sèvres; Dihl and Feulliet. English pottery and porcelain includes delftware; salt-glazed stoneware; creamware; Wedgwood Black Basalt and Etruscan ware; Chelsea, Bow, Worcester and Derby porcelain; Minton China; De Morgan, and Martin ware. From the Americas, the selection includes Pueblo ware.

Many are published for the first time, sometimes illustrated in their original interiors. Collectively, the selection surveys patterns of ceramic collecting by the British aristocracy and gentry over a four hundred year period.